Branching, Merging, and Pull Requests

 Branching

A branch is like creating a parallel copy of your project where you can make changes without touching the main version.

Think of it like:
Main branch = your “production-ready” project
New branch = your experimental workspace

Why branches are awesome:

• You can work on a new feature safely.
• You can fix bugs without breaking other things.
• Multiple team members can work in parallel.

Common commands:

Create a branch:

git branch feature-login

Switch to the branch:

git checkout feature-login

Or create + switch in one step:

git checkout -b feature-login

 Merging

Once you’re done with your changes on a branch, you bring them back into another branch (usually main) through a merge.

Two types of merges:

Fast-forward merge

Happens when the target branch has no new commits. It simply “moves forward” to include the changes.

Three-way merge

Used when both branches have evolved differently. Git creates a merge commit that unifies history.

Example:

Switch to main:

git checkout main

Get latest changes:

git pull

Merge your feature branch:

git merge feature-login

If there are conflicts, Git will ask you to resolve them manually.

 Pull Requests (PRs)

A Pull Request is basically you saying:
“Hey team, I’ve worked on this branch, can someone review it and merge it into main?”

PRs happen on GitHub, not Git itself.

Why PRs matter:

• They force code review (quality control 💯).
• They let teammates discuss changes.
• They show what changed (diff view).
• They enforce workflows via approvals and CI checks.

The flow:

1. Push your branch to GitHub:

   git push origin feature-login
   

2. Go to the repo on GitHub.
3. Click “Compare & pull request”.
4. Write a description:
   • What changed
   • Why
   • Any risks or dependencies
5. Submit the PR.
6. Review → Approve → Merge.

Merge Options in GitHub:

• Merge commit — keeps full history.
• Squash and merge — combines all commits into one clean commit.
• Rebase and merge — creates a linear commit history.

Putting It All Together (Real-World Flow)

Your team wants to add a “Contact Form” feature.

1. Pull latest code:

   git pull origin main
   

2. Create a branch:

   git checkout -b feature-contact-form
   

3. Build your feature.
4. Commit your changes:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Added contact form functionality"
   

5. Push the branch:

   git push origin feature-contact-form
   

6. Open a Pull Request on GitHub.
7. Team reviews it.
8. Merge into main.
9. Delete the branch.